General News

News Roundup: Oct. 24

By:
Erika Gimenes

Oct 24, 2001 | 11:29am EDT

Top Story

Members of SAG presidential candidate Valerie Harper's Actors Moving Forward slate took out a quarter-page advertisement in a Sept. 19 issue of Variety that read, "Tracey Ullman says: VALERIE HARPER...EVERYONE'S PRESIDENT." Appalled that her name was used without permission, Ullman demanded the ad be removed. "That's very rude," Ullman told the Hollywood Reporter. "It's not that I have anything against Valerie--or Melissa Gilbert, for that manner. I am totally neutral. I know both ladies, and I admire them, but you can't use somebody's name without their permission." Ullman added that the election process has become a popularity contest. Ballots for the SAG presidential elections are due by Oct. 31, with election results to be announced on Nov. 5.

Births

French actress and supermodel Laetitia Casta, 23, gave birth to daughter Sahteene between Thursday night and Friday morning in Paris, her publicist announced on Monday, Reuters reports. Casta and her partner, Stephane Sednaoui, have asked the media to "respect this happy, private event," the statement said.

Honored

Arnold Schwarzenegger received an honorary doctorate in business administration at the Imadec University in Vienna, Italy, on Oct. 22. Imadec University President Christian Joksh praised the actor as "a living example of what a person starting from nothing can achieve," the Associated Press reports.

In Courts

Mexican soap actress Gloria Trevi might have artificially inseminated herself to become pregnant to avoid being sent back to her home country, police officers told Reuters on Tuesday. Trevi is currently serving time in a Brazilian jail on sexual abuse charges. According to local police, Brazilian laws have allowed inmates to remain in the country if they have a Brazilian child, but it is still unknown if the actress will be able to stay since the identity of her father is still unknown.

In General

The 2001 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) will be held at the Park Lane Hotel in London on Wednesday. Among the biggest nominations are the best film nominees South West Nine and Sexy Beast, which is also nominated in the best screenplay category and earned actor nominations for stars Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley, BBC News reports. The World War II drama Enigma also received a nomination for best actress Kate Winslet and best director for Michael Apted.

Former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman celebrates his 65th birthday on Wednesday, Reuters reports. He told British papers that he plans to spend his birthday "quietly" on holiday with his third wife, actress Suzanne Accosta, and their children, Katie, Jessica and Matilda. In the past Wyman has pondered his health, saying, "I smoke, I eat lots of red meat, have loads of sugar and loads of salt."

Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates filmed a guest spot for the 200th episode of Frasier, a spokeswoman for the show's producers told Reuters on Tuesday. In the episode, scheduled to air on Nov. 13, Gates shows up at Frasier's broadcasting show and ends up talking about Microsoft and its products.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said that the advertisement for the indie group Charlatans' single "Love is the Key" was not pornographic, Reuters reports. The band's label, Universal-Island Records, said that the photograph, which showed a man kneeling in front of a woman with his head close to her crotch, actually depicted a man kissing a wall onto which the woman's image was projected. ASA added that the photo was not sexually explicit and it was not targeted to children, thereby posing no risk of widespread offense.

On Thursday, Apple Computer Inc. unveiled a portable music player that can hold up to 1,000 songs in MP3 format and has a battery life of 8-10 hours, Reuters reports. Apple's "iPod" will hit the market on Nov. 10 at a suggested retail price of $399.

According to Nielsen Media Research, NBC was the most watched network of the week ending Oct. 21. Beating Friends for the first time in three weeks, ER was the most watched television show, its comeback conciding with the return of original cast member Sherry Stringfield. NBC continues to maintain an average of 12.2 million viewers, closely followed by CBS (12.1 million) showing CSI: Crime Investigation, Everyone Loves Raymond, and Survivor: Africa.